FRISCO, Texas _ First things first.
After being temporarily benched following two fumbles in Monday's 38-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, running back Ezekiel Elliott remains the bell cow in the Dallas Cowboys backfield and will start against the Washington Football team on Sunday, coach Mike McCarthy said.
Elliott addressed his teammates with a passionate and remorseful speech after the Cardinals game, promising not to let them down again.
"I just wanted to let them know how terrible I felt," Elliott said. "And that I'm supposed to be a guy this team and this offense can rely on when things get rough and I just wasn't that last Monday night. I was sorry and I promise I'm going to turn things around for this team."
Elliott, who has lost four fumbles in six games after losing five in the previous four seasons combined, has followed his words with action.
He has spent the last two days watching tape of all his fumbles since coming into the league in hopes of trying to find a common thread to correct the problem.
He wouldn't say what he found out, but he acknowledged that it's a bunch of different things.
"I just think I need to not put myself in vulnerable situations," Elliott said. "I've just got to lock in and focus. All I can do is ... watch as much film as I can, gather as much information as I can and try to use that to help me. But I don't think there's an exact answer on how to fix these fumble problems I've had this year."
McCarthy said Elliott's comments to his teammates after the game showed his passion for winning and his commitment to the team.
He said the Cowboys have all the resources available to assist Elliott to work on his issues on and off the field, including psychological counseling if it's a mental issue.
But he trusts that Elliott, who has touched the ball more than any player outside of the quarterback and center of any team he's been on since he started playing football, will get a handle on things because of his work ethic and history of being a student of the game.
"I get to see Zeke every day," McCarthy said. "I get to see Zeke in the front row of the team meeting. I see Zeke in the front row of the quarterback-center meeting this morning. His conversation to the team after the game. So that's the belief that I put myself in. He knows how to carry the football, he understands the points of pressure and we have video of everything we do. At the end of the day, it's the focus."
Elliott, who signed a six-year, $90 million contract before last season, is certainly tired of talking about his fumble issue. He is ready to move forward and put it behind him, starting Sunday in Washington where he hopes to record his first 100-yard rushing effort of the season.
The former two-time rushing champ has never gone six games without gaining at least 100 yards on the ground in his career. His inability to produce at a high level has only been exacerbated by his new habit of giving the ball to the other team.
He currently ranks ninth in the NFL in rushing with 413 yards on 101 carries.
"I'm not going to be able to change the amount of times I put the ball on the ground this year," Elliott said. "What I can control is my play from here on out so I've got to put that behind me. I can't sit back and think about that and let that affect my play going forward. I got to go out there and play a lot better football than I've played."
